


Memories

by anonymousstoryperson



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Amnesia, Amnesiac Loki, Jotun Loki, Loki Redemption, M/M, Reconciliation, Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Is a Good Bro, Tony Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-05 05:15:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15163466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousstoryperson/pseuds/anonymousstoryperson
Summary: Tony's trying to deal with everything being Iron Man has brought on him when a familiar face appears in the Tower, with no recollection of who he is or what he has done.





	1. 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the mess of New York and the Mandarin, an unexpected reunion occurs.

Tony Stark tried to relax in his Tower, he really did. He had found himself a brief moment of respite in the current shit show that was his life, reclined on his expensive sofa with a more expensive scotch in hand, the darkening New York skyline visible through the windows. It seemed the perfect time to forget his worries and enjoy the peace of the moment, but it just wouldn't happen. After New York, the Mandarin, everything, he just hadn't had a moment to himself. It was like he didn't know how to relax anymore. His body was tense, as if waiting for an alarm to ring out and shatter the peace; his hands were twitching, aching to work on something, anything; his mind was buzzing with work and nightmares and memories and the incessant chatter of his own unwelcome thoughts. He had tried working, tried drowning the thoughts in schematics and numbers, but no matter what blueprints were in front of him, it all blurred into a cold darkness that left him pushing away from the workbench with stiff limbs. 

Not for the first time, he cursed the empty halls of his Tower. He had been ready for the Avengers to move in the moment he had finished fighting alongside them for the first time, designs for each personalised floor already in progress. In hindsight, maybe individual floors personalised to their needs after meeting only hours before may have been a bit much, but he had been so eager to be a part of something, to prove wrong their ideas about him- that he was more than a narcissist that didn't play well with others.

But none had taken up the offer. Bruce had disappeared somewhere, Thor had returned to Asgard with no way of contact, Steve had already been given an apartment, or still had one, and the SHIELD agents had ran back to their Director, not to be heard from even when his Malibu home was destroyed by AIM, or when he almost lost Pepper to Extremis. The swell of disappointment had subsided since then, but with nothing to distract him from his own mind, he wasn't much happier about it. His disillusionment towards SHIELD had left a bitter taste, too.

"Sir," JARVIS called out from the silence, making Tony jump, "Scanners detect unusual energy readings on the lower floor."

Well, that would have to do.

He was out of his seat in a second, calling his suit to him and making his way down, mask down and repulsers live by the time he reached the stairs. "Monitor it, J." He ordered as he descended, "I wanna know what's happening. See if it matches to anyone we know."

"Checking all databases now, sir." 

On the lower floor, the lights flicked on at his entry, illuminating the floor as he walked. It was silent, so nothing was exploding yet. That meant there was no evil masterminds making any grand entrances, at least. This Tower had only just been repaired. 

"Sir, it appears that the energy signature is growing with density. Someone is teleporting into the tower."

That alone was odd. How many people did he know who could do that, let alone have a reason to do it?

He found the intruder just as they appeared, their form flickering as they showed. Whoever it was, they were lying on the floor, completely still. Tony stepped forward just as the flickering stopped, and got close enough to see who it was. When he did, he cursed aloud.

It was Loki, the same one that almost flattened New York with his army of creepy alien buddies. The one who brainwashed Clint and killed God knows how many in his plan to rule Earth as a not-so benevolent god. Tony hadn't heard anything from Thor since New York, but he was sure this guy had been meant to face "Asgardian justice", whatever that meant. What the hell was he doing here?

It didn't seem he was conscious; he hadn't moved since he showed up. Tony leaned closer. His face was mottled with dark veins, he was pale and, was he even breathing?

The god suddenly gasped as if it was his first breath in hours, eyes wide, and Tony stepped back, repulsors aimed at him steadily. Loki turned onto his side, coughing roughly and taking deep, ragged breaths before he noticed that he was not alone. When he did, he got his breath back and looked up at him. He breaths were deep and he calmed himself after the coughing fit, but seeing a familiar person didn't elicit any real reaction.

"Where am I?" His voice was coarse from misuse, and Tony frowned. He was sure there weren't many people who walked around in red and gold armour for him to confuse Tony with.

"You're on Earth," the billionaire answered, not lowering his stance, "Stark Tower. Thought you might recognise good taste."

"Am I meant to recognise it?"

That made him stop. Something was definitely wrong, though he could be lying. God of Lies, and all that. But what could he gain by feigning ignorance?

He retracted the mask of his suit, revealing his face. "Remember me yet, Rudolph?"

Loki's expression didn't change, but he sounded even more confused. "Who?"

"Sir," JARVIS called from within the helmet, "it would seem Mr Laufeyson does not remember you. Shall I contact SHIELD?"

"Because they were so helpful with the Mandarin, right?" he scoffed, the memory of his Malibu home in flames and no-one to help but Rhodey and Harley leaving a bitter taste, "No, just keep an eye on him for now."

"Very well. Would you like me to run some tests to confirm his statement?"

"That would be great." He finally lowered his arms, speaking to Loki again. "Right, I'm gonna need you to come with me."

"Why?" He seemed hesitant, but then again he was talking to a complete stranger in a metal suit. Apparently.

"To find out what happened to you. This way." He gestured towards the doors, letting him go first so he could keep an eye on him, just in case he was being taken from a ride. The god stood up and took a few steps, then turned to face him. "Could you at least tell me who you are, please?"

Huh. So manners were a thing when he wasn't throwing you through windows, then. 

"Tony. My name is Tony."


	2. 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony starts to figure out what happened.

Tests were ran in the workshop, and Tony stayed nearby the entire time, waiting for the act to drop. But it didn't. Loki was silent the entire time, his eyes comically wide with unrestrained curiosity as he took in his surroundings. It was unnerving, how different he was to what he had been two years ago. Tony didn't want to believe him until the tests were finished.

When JARVIS had finished scanning, Tony leaned against the table opposite Loki, leaning back and resting his hands on the edge of the workbench. Loki looked back at him, fidgeting uncomfortably under his gaze. That in itself was too unlike him. The Loki he knew was too confident, already ten steps ahead before you'd even started racing. Of course, he could always be a damn good actor.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"What's my name?"

"You said it was Tony."

"Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"How you got here?"

"No."

"What was my first question?"

Loki frowned, but thought back and answered. "You asked what my name was."

"How did you feel?" He continued, swinging one leg to rest its ankle against his other one, "Waking up?"

"I'm not sure- I have nothing I can compare it to. As far as I'm aware, I haven't ever been awake until now."

"Try and describe it anyway."

He paused for a moment. "It was sudden. My lungs were empty and I couldn't get my breath under control. I was on the floor, but with no idea how I got there. Then I saw you."

"Well?" He asked, glancing away from the Norse god in his workshop, "what's the verdict, J?"

A screen flashed into existence beside them and Tony scanned through the data as JARVIS spoke. "From what I can gather, my best guess is retrograde amnesia, sir, caused by cellular degeneration that occurred minutes after loss of brain function."

So he's probably not faking, then. Tony nodded before explaining the diagnosis.

"Okay Loki, as far as JARVIS could tell, it looks like you were dead for a while, and when you were revived, the lack of brain activity damaged your memories. Your long term memories are basically fried, but new memories should be fine. Anything you remember before me?"

Loki shook his head. "I don't even recognise my name."

"That is to be expected of this sort of amnesia," JARVIS explained, "Your semantic and episodic memories will have been lost either temporarily or permanently, but your procedural memories are likely to have remained intact."

"So you can't remember facts or experiences from the past, but you should still know how to do everything you've learned to do." Tony looked around, and picked up a screwdriver nearby.

"Catch." He said, tossing it in Loki's direction, who caught it before it could fly past his head. That confirmed that part of the theory.

"JARVIS, do you know if it's permanent?"

"It's a possibility, sir, but not certain at this stage. Most memories can usually be recovered through spontaneous recovery, if at all."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. This would make things difficult. He had an evil god with amnesia in his home. It sounded like a bad sitcom.

"Well, I don't know how you died, but JARVIS found a wound in your torso. It's healed, obviously, but it may give us a clue to what happened. Mind if I see?"

Loki nodded, his movements, like everything since he appeared, small and quiet. His hands moved to his leather armour, removing it without looking. Maybe it was his procedural memory intact, maybe he was faking. But the latter was looking less likely by the minute.

When he was free of his attire, he discarded it beside him, and Tony was able to see where the wound had been.

It was in the centre of his chest, about the length of Tony's hand. It was healing, but even now he could tell it hadn't been pretty. It was unnaturally dark, the edges scabbing over.

"Turn around for me?" He asked, and he saw the same thing on his back, the healing wound still dark against his pale skin.

"Looks like you were impaled by something."

"Impaled?"

"Yeah, whatever cut up your front came through the other side. Sure it's not ringing any bells?"

He shook his head and Tony sighed. "Maybe Thor knows something about what happened."

Even that didn't get a reaction from him; his face was blank, without the sneer it had held the last time he had brought up his brother in a conversation. So that name didn't mean anything to him, either.

"Right, well you're going to have to stay here until I figure out what to do with you. Hiding you might be difficult but-"

"Why would I need to be hidden?"

What was he supposed to say? How would he react to being told he was an insane god who killed a load of people? Even if he didn't remember right there and then, he didn't like the idea of him panicking in his workshop. No, it wouldn't work. He had to think of something else.

"Uh, the people I spend time with usually don't take kindly to people randomly appearing in my house. Especially if even I don't know how it happened. It would be better if no one finds out about you for now, at least until we have an idea about where you popped up from."

Loki nodded and looked down at his hands. He was so different from the maniac he had been when he first came to New York with the Chitauri. Tony almost felt sorry for him.

"Right, well, you should go get washed up, maybe get out of the rest of those clothes while you're at it and rest. JARVIS, light the way to a guest suite."

The AI complied, and Loki got to his feet. "Thank you, Tony. I realise you have no real reason to help me, so your generosity is appreciated." He said before taking his armour and following the lights, his gait empty of the confident malice it had held the last time they met.

The moment he was out of sight, Tony turned to the nearby computers. "Alright J, monitor his movements in case he takes any detours. While you do that, I need you to locate Thor for me. If anyone knows what happened it'll be that guy."

"As you wish, sir."

It only took a few moments as a map of the world popped up next to one of the tower, Loki's position pulsing as he moved into the guest room. The world map zoomed in on itself until it could pinpoint Thor. "Sir, Thor has been located at Jane Foster's residence. Given your current situation and house guest, I would recommend a phone call as opposed to a visit."

"Right as always, buddy." Tony smiled, jumping into the chair. "Ring 'em up."

The call was picked up after four rings. "Hello?" It was a woman's voice.

"Hi, is this astrophysicist Jane Foster by any chance?"

"Uh, yeah. Can I help you?"

"You probably could. Is there a god of thunder living with you, by any chance? Tall, blonde, eats like a wolf?"

"Sorry, who is this?"

"Friend of his. Can you put him on the phone?"

There was silence on the other end for a minute until Thor's booming voice came through. "Who is requesting my audience?"

"Hey, Thor, it's Tony."

"My friend, it is good to hear from you! What can I do?"

"Nothing really, just thought you'd gone dark on us for a while. Haven't heard from you since you beamed up back to Asgard with your brother. Everything good?"

His thundering voice quietened. "Oh... Yes. The Nine Realms are safe, I can assure you."

"Thor, that does not sound like everything's fine. What happened?"

He eventually told him. About the Dark Elves and Malekith invading Asgard, about Kurse, about the Aether, and about how his brother died on Svartlfheim.

"I held him as he died," he said, "It was no illusion, else it would have failed under my contact. His death was real."

Tony nodded, though he knew it couldn't be seen. "I'm sorry."

"I am to blame," the god continued, "Had I been faster, had I bested Kurse before he had to, then perhaps..."

"Thor, it wasn't your fault." Tony assured him, "from what you've said, it sounds like he knew what he was doing. The choice was his."

"Perhaps." He was clearly mourning. Tony couldn't keep this from him. Despite their past- Loki had clearly tried to kill him at least once- the guy clearly cared. Had the roles been reversed, he would want to know. It was not his place to keep this a secret. "Thor, you might want to get over here."

"Why?"

"I don't think your brother's as dead as you think he is."

The line went dead immediately, and Tony took a moment to wonder if that had been in any way a good idea, before getting up and moving to the lift to get to the roof. "J, how's the Grinch doing?"

The map of the Tower popped up in front of him again. He was still in the guest room. "He's sleeping, sir, though I predict the presence of his brother may possibly disrupt that."

"I'll talk to him, don't worry. Monitor Loki, though. Any change and I want to know about it. We don't know if he's gonna go rampant."

Tony reached the area where Thor was likely to land and waited, scanning the night sky for movement. Thor needed to know, of course he did, but what about the others? None of them would take nearly as kindly to Loki being back on Earth, especially without knowing about how he died. Tony knew for a fact Clint wouldn't welcome him back with open arms, not after New York. 

Speaking of which, what changed between New York and Asgard? He went from a ruthless killer looking to rule to giving his life for the brother he seemed to betray on the daily. What changed?

The god of thunder appeared relatively quickly, his landing denting the take-off platform. Tony winced. The amount of money he spent repairing his Tower... He may as well buy a new one.

"Where is he?" Thor marched forward, his gait angry but his expression worried.

"Calm down big guy," Tony put his hands up and guided him inside, "He's asleep right now. Try and wait for morning before you talk to him."

"I thought he was dead a second time- I need to see him now!" He was getting frustrated- understandable, obviously, but not exactly helpful.

"Buddy, look at me," Tony stood in his path and made him look him in the eye. "He doesn't remember anything."

That did it Thor stopped abruptly. "What?"

"I think when he died, something brought him back, but being dead for that long messed with his head. He doesn't remember New York, he doesn't even know his own name."

Thor was stunned to say the least, and Tony guided him to a sofa so he could sit down. He left him only temporarily to get him something to drink, and passed it over silently.

"Is it permanent?"

"Not sure yet. He could wake up completely back to normal, it could take a while, or he'll never remember. It might depend on how he was brought back. Any ideas?"

"None. He was impaled through the torso by Kurse. I had no choice but to leave his body in Svartlfheim, lest the Aether was released. I don't know how he could have survived."

Tony nodded, taking this in, and gripped his shoulder. "We'll figure this out. For now, both of you can stay here, keep him hidden. I'm guessing showing up on Asgard or SHIELD wouldn't be the best idea for him."

"You are wise, my friend." Thor smiled, standing up, "I shall contact Jane and tell her my situation."

"Even better," he replied, an idea forming, "Bring her over here. Give her access to the best equipment she's ever seen and you can be with her and your brother. Hell knows I'd sleep better knowing we're both here to take him down if he goes loopy again."

Thor seemed thrilled at the idea, and used Tony's phone to explain it to Jane, who seemed just as excited at the prospect of looking into Stark tech. Tony sent a message to Happy to pick up Jane and Darcy in the morning. Having other people here to keep an eye on things could come in handy.

He directed Thor to a second bedroom, and assured him for two minutes that the moment there was any change, he would be alerted by either JARVIS or himself.

But right now, all he could do was wait and see what happened in the morning.


	3. 3.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Thor and Loki talk.

Loki woke up in an unfamiliar room, shrouded in darkness. The place he lay was comfortable, but unknown to him. He waited for his brain to catch up with an explanation, but none came. He didn't know where he was.

He was bolt upright in a moment, panic rising in his throat, but just as he did so, the window changed from opaque to clear, revealing a cloudy morning sky. It took a moment for the memories of the previous night to return to him, but no other memories resurfaced. He just remembered seeing Tony, then being in the workshop. Being told about his amnesia.

"Good morning, sir."

Loki jumped out of his skin at the voice as he scrambled to find the source.

"Please remain calm. You are not in danger. I am JARVIS, an artificial intelligence created by Mr Stark. We spoke yesterday. You are in Stark Tower, New York, and the time is 6:47am. Is there anything you need?"

Loki looked out the window, then around the room again, slightly calmer. "...No, thank you JARVIS."

"May I assume your memories are still lost?"

He nodded, then looked down at his bare chest. "Do you know where I could find some clothes, JARVIS?"

The wardrobe ahead of him opened at his request, and with a thank you, he climbed off the bed, padding across the floor barefoot. The clothes he had been found in lay discarded on a nearby chair. He stopped a moment to look at them, trying to see anything familiar about them. He saw nothing.

When he emerged from his room, clad in a dark shirt and jeans that didn't even reach his ankles, he saw the empty corridor and hesitated. For a moment, he wondered if he should stay in his room, when he noticed that Tony was already up and in the corridor. For that, he was grateful. Any familiarity was welcome at this point. "Hey, you're up. How's your memory?"

Loki shook his head. "The first thing I remember is seeing you."

Tony nodded, not speaking for a moment before returning to the conversation. "That's fine." He promised, "It was unlikely a bit of shut eye was going to reverse the damage. But there's still the hope of spontaneous recovery. Come with me. We'll get breakfast."

They walked together down the corridor to the kitchen, though Loki was quick to notice that Tony was keeping his distance and keeping him in his peripheral vision. He briefly wondered what kind of person he had been in his lost past to make that happen. If the red and gold armour he had worn the night before was any hint, he couldn't have been friendly.

Once they reached their destination, Tony directed him to the breakfast bar and told him to make himself comfortable. As he sat, Tony made enough for the two of them, making a third helping as well. Was there someone else here?

Apparently there was, as a large man with blond hair burst into the room a minute later, a large hammer in hand and cape flying behind him.

Loki jumped again, startled by the doors slamming open, and even more startled by the man who caused them to do so.

"Loki." The man looked surprised, as well as relieved, to see him here, if not anxious.

The god in question looked to Tony, which told him everything the inventor needed to know, but still Tony put a hand on the back of his chair. "Do you remember him, Loki?"

He looked back to the man in the doorway. The way he was searching his face made him feel guilty. It wasn't as if he could help it. When he shook his head, the man's face fell.

"Loki, it's me, Thor. Your brother."

The younger one looked even guiltier, cringing inwardly. "I'm sorry."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Tony looking at him. "You don't have to apologise. Give it time."

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Tony joined Loki on the breakfast bar, and Thor remained standing as he ate. His eyes only left his brother to look down at his plate. When Tony finished, he recounted the events of the evening to Thor, who listened with rapt attention to the end.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't his own doing," he decided once Tony had told him everything, "He would have needed a healing stone, and he had not been out of my sight since I broke him out. Someone else did this, though who, or why, I couldn't say."

"Could Odin have done it?" Tony asked, "Track both of you there and helped him?"

Thor looked almost uncomfortable at the question. "I doubt it. Father made it clear that he had given up on Loki when he sentenced him to life in the dungeons. Even if he hadn't, there is no way he could leave Asgard so soon after an attack, nor would he have a reason to send him here."

"Well who else has that kind of power?" Tony asked, but was interrupted by the arrival of Jane and Darcy by private jet. Loki, who had been listening to their theories, completely lost, looked to the sound of the jet and looked to Tony again. Right now he was the one he knew the most, and the one he felt more comfortable with. He really didn't want to be left alone with a stranger who begged to be remembered.

Tony looked to him and seemed to understand, and he turned away. "Thor, go welcome your girlfriend. She'll be worried about you disappearing like that. I'll take care of Loki here."

He seemed reluctant, but nodded, looking to Loki once more before heading out.

"I should remember him." Loki spoke out when he had gone. He felt Tony's eyes on him. "He said he is my brother, but he's a stranger to me. Surely my kin would be enough to help me remember something."

Tony could only shrug. "It doesn't always work like that, buddy. Retrograde amnesia isn't affected by being exposed to old experiences. If you're lucky, there'll be spontaneous recovery, and you'll start getting them back randomly. For others it's permanent, and nothing will unlock the memories. We can't know for sure."

"Then tell me," he turned to face him completely, "Since you appear to have met me before, do I really want to go back to who I was before I was impaled?"

Tony couldn't answer, and was grateful when Thor returned, Jane and Darcy not far behind. Loki, an uncomfortable feeling in his chest at even more strangers showing up, reached behind him for Tony and found his hand. The hand tensed at the surprise contact, but relaxed after a moment. "It's alright, buddy. You're fine." He heard near his ear, before feeling a reassuring pat on his back and watching Tony greet his new guests with an air of natural confidence. They appeared through the doorway, and were more people he didn't know. But from the shocked expression he was getting, one of them definitely knew him.

"Isn't he dead?" The girl he assumed to be Jane asked, "I mean, I'm not the only one that sees him, right?"

"He was dead, now he isn't." Tony answered, "Complete amnesiac at the moment, but we're working on it. Guest rooms are that way, lab's downstairs, go nuts."

Jane eventually did leave for the lab, keeping her distance from the breakfast bar, but not before Darcy waltzed up to Loki and shook his hand. "Hey, I'm Darcy. We've never met. Saw you on TV once." She nodded to the TV nearby as she spoke, which had the news on mute.

Loki was clearly surprised, but composed himself enough to greet her. "And I have been told that I'm Loki."

"Cool." Was her only response before following Jane out of the room.

That, once again, left Loki alone with Tony and Thor.

"If I am to take anything from your behaviours," Loki decided, "I think I may be better off not knowing who I was."

"Brother, it may still be possible for you to unlock your memories-" Thor tried, but Loki cut him off.

"That hammer of yours has yet to leave your side." He pointed out, eyes glancing to Mjolnir, which was still grasped firmly in hand. It had only hung from his wrist when he had eaten.

"And I doubt it's decorative. Therefore I must be something of a threat, even to you. You've made clear that I was imprisoned for my crimes by a man who has the ability to bring me back, and Darcy's claim that I was on TV- which seems to tell you about today's events- tells me that what I did was recent and most likely destructive. So if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not find out what kind of a person I was to warrant such consequences."

There was silence as his words rang in the air. Thor gave a sad smile. "You always were perceptive, Loki."

"Look, Wizard of Oz, even if we wanted you to remember, telling you about your past won't affect you." Tony explained, "your memories will come back all on their own, whether you want them to or not."

"Well I want to at least leave it behind while I can. While I have the chance, I think I might as well try and be less of the psychopath I seem to have been."

He looked to Tony, trying to get his decision across. His first memory was this man, armed against him and expecting an attack. At this moment, he was not a threat, and he didn't want to be.

"Well then," Tony gestured around him, "Guess you better make yourself at home."


	4. 4.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD puts a brief spanner in the works

"Better what?" Loki asked, perplexed.

"Make yourself at home," Tony repeated, grinning, "Get comfy. You're gonna be here a while."

"You would be willing to let him stay here on Earth?" Thor asked, "With what happened in New York?"

Tony shrugged, nonchalant despite the situation. "I don't see why not. He doesn't have to go strolling round the city in the armour and horns, and there's not a lot of places as well protected as here. I don't really think sending him back to Asgard is a good idea, do you?"

"..You may be right on that part." Thor agreed, nodding slowly.

"Sorry, what's this about horns?" Loki asked, brows furrowed as he followed their conversation.

Tony waved dismissively. "Past stuff. Old you had one hell of a helmet. But what do you think, Lokes? You think you'd be happy living here? At least until the heat dies down?"

Loki gave the smallest of smiles. Tony was the most familiar thing he had found so far- he was glad he could stay near him, even for just a bit longer.

Before anything could be made certain, however, JARVIS spoke up out of the blue. "Sir, it appears a SHIELD helicopter is attempting to land on your helipad."

"What?" Tony whirled as the TV screen changed, showing the Tower's surveillance. As reported, a helicopter was approaching the landing pad, the SHIELD logo clearly visible on its side.

"Shit." He turned to Thor, "It'll be about your sudden reappearance. I know I've done nothing so far. Loki," he turned to him. "Quickly, get to a guest room and stay there. They can't see you, got it? You stay there till JARVIS says otherwise."

"Why? Who are they?"

"We'll explain later- go!"

Loki was surprised by the sudden alarm, but nodded and left the room with haste.

Barely three seconds later, the elevator doors opened, and Nick Fury himself stepped into view.

Tony switched into a calm demeanour so fast it wasn't noticeable. "Do you guys ever ask for permission before trespassing on my properties? Most people knock. Maybe even call ahead before breaking the law."

Fury almost smiled, raising his knuckle to the nearest surface and knocking clearly. Tony could have rolled his eyes.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, mind telling me why the God of Thunder here was spotted flying into your tower like a rocket gone rogue last night?"

"I'm sorry if your own buddies aren't happy to come visit you from time to time."

Fury came forward, hands at his back. "Stark, please take this at least slightly seriously. Parts of this city are still in clean-up from one of the most destructive attacks we've had to deal with in decades, one that brought Lightning McQueen here over in the first place. Forgive me if I'm a bit extra careful these days."

"Jane had told me that she was interested in Stark's work," Thor lied, impressing Tony with the speed of which he came up with it, "He has graciously agreed to give her a personal explanation of his findings, while allowing her to work here temporarily on her own research."

"And that wasn't something you could find out over the phone?" He was skeptical. Why was he skeptical?

"Don't know if you've noticed, Nick, but Goldilocks isn't one for a subdued chat."

"So it's you two and Jane Foster, is it?"

"And her assistant, Darcy." Thor corrected.

"Then why is my copter reading five heat signals, one of which was in this room just before I got here?"

Shit. That was why he was skeptical.

Tony threw his hands out beside him. "I'm not allowed to find a little company of my own every now and then?"

"So my team has no need to worry about who you're hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anyone- any guest is gonna feel a bit uncomfortable meeting the super police if they aren't decently dressed for more formal company than what I had in mind. Unless you're here purely to scare off my guest?"

Fury had heard enough. "That's fine by me, Stark- if I have nothing to worry about, then neither do you. But Odinson," he turned to Thor, "Try to remember that this city is recovering. We don't need the public wondering why you're rushing to say hi."

He left shortly after, and Thor turned back to Tony. "Was that truly the only cover you could give for my brother's identity?"

"Whatever keeps the questions away, buddy."

"I shall inform Loki that it is safe to leave the guest room." JARVIS informed them, and a minute later, the younger god was back in the room with them. "I'm guessing it worked."

"Like a dream." Tony was grinning. They might actually be able to pull this off.

"We may not be able to hide you forever." Thor warned, "At some point SHIELD will discover you."

Now Tony did roll his eyes. "We were just getting optimistic here, Point Break."

"What exactly is SHIELD?" Loki asked, turning to Tony, "Why couldn't they know I was here?"

The billionaire glanced at the TV, where he could see the helicopter taking off, "SHIELD are the super police, more or less. They take care of the large scale problems that tend to involve super powered psychos, among other things. What happened with you was one of their longer work days. You're in their systems, so they'd recognise you in an instant, and there won't be streamers and balloons at the welcome party."

"But I'm not... Well, me anymore."

"Even if they believed you, they would still perceive you as a threat." Thor explained, looking grave, "Especially if we don't know when your memories will resurface. They wouldn't be able to kill you- their bullets are nothing to Asgardians- but I doubt they would trust you in any sense without keeping you under lock and key."

"Then perhaps it would be best if I create a life for myself elsewhere," Loki tried, but Tony shook his head.

"It's too risky right now. America knows what you look like and what happened is still recent. Best for you to lie low for a while, at least until it's become old news. SHIELD definitely won't let it go, but it'll be easier for you if the city as a whole isn't on high alert."

"It's risky for _you_ to keep me here." he argued, "If you're harbouring a criminal-"

"Ex-criminal." Tony corrected, "Who already served time and gave his life for his brother while fighting aliens who wanted to destroy all light in the universe, according to Thor. Seems to me like you've made up for it whether you remember it or not."

Loki looked shocked. "Thank you, but they won't see it like that. And you are happy for me to stay here and jeopardise you in the process?"

Again, he grinned. "I don't see why not. I haven't jeopardised myself for about a week now."


	5. 5.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki assimilates to life in Stark Tower.

It was settled. Going back to Asgard was a no, living alone on Earth with SHIELD everywhere and his face still on the news was a bigger no, so Loki took up residence in Stark Tower. He had nothing but the armour he arrived in, and Thor would have a hard time explaining why he was smuggling Loki's possessions out of Asgard after his death, so there was nothing for him to do but program his fingerprints into JARVIS' database. That in itself was made into an event.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen," Tony announced to the room of two ladies and two gentlemen, "Today is not a momentous occasion by any means, but there's no reason we shouldn't act like it is, because none of us can catch a break otherwise."_

_Thor was standing with Jane, his arm encompassing her small frame. Darcy was next to them, grinning wildly at Tony's performance as he addressed his crowd of four. Loki was stood by Tony, an amused smile on his face as he buried his hands deeper into the jean pockets. He didn't know for the life of him why Tony was making such a big deal of... Whatever was happening, but he was certainly putting on a show._

_"Today, STARK Tower opens its doors to its newest and only other permanent resident, for reasons totally separate from the surveillance of the outside world and any events that may have taken place before this moment. Loki," Tony gestured to him with a grin, "if you'd like to step up and place your hand on the scanner."_

_Loki lowered and shook his head, but couldn't hide his small smile as he came closer. "Is all this really necessary?"_

_"Of course it is." Tony waved dismissively, "it's not everyday someone gets complete access to my stuff. Might as well enjoy ourselves."_

_"And this is a good idea? With whoever I was beforehand?"_

_"I'll burn that bridge when I get to it- come on." He presented the tablet with a flourish, the outline of a hand glowing expectantly on the screen. Loki gave him a skeptical look, but did as instructed, placing his hand in the outline._

_The screen scanned the hand print immediately, and JARVIS' voice resonated after a moment. "Your hand print has been identified and stored in the database. Scanning will give you access to every secure room in the Tower, to be overridden only by Mr Stark or by evidence of malicious intent." The announcement was followed by what sounded like a generic celebratory noise that Tony must have planned beforehand._

_"Thanks, buddy. Oh, and before I forget, I want constant surveillance round the place. If anyone seems to be within a mile of visiting I want to know about it. Can't have another close call." Tony patted Loki on the back, instructing the AI as he gestured to Jane with his empty glass._

_"A wise decision, sir." JARVIS agreed as Jane popped open the champagne Tony had given her responsibility over._

The windows in the penthouse, where Loki spent most of his free time, were replaced with one-way windows, so he could see the outside world without the risk of SHIELD peeking in.

He earned his keep how he could- usually that meant dragging Tony out of the lab and convincing him to go to bed. They had established a rule by the first week: If you get Tony out the lab doors, he has to leave the lab till lunch. It was a rule Tony was determined to use to his advantage, after all, if he doesn't come out, he doesn't have to leave.

JARVIS was the first to alert them of visitors, scheduled or otherwise, that came within a mile of the building- an alarm Tony was insistent on calling Introvert Alert. This left them with enough time for Loki to slip away into his room without the panic, where he was happy to read quietly until the coast was clear. He found he had a fascination with literature, be it fiction or otherwise, and it was typical to find him with two novels in hand. He wanted to learn as much as he could in this new life of his.

He also became more comfortable with Tony,- not really a surprise: whenever he found himself to be uncomfortable or confused, having the familiarity of the first face he remembered helped calm him- which made dragging him away from his suits far easier as the weeks progressed.

_"Just ten minutes." Tony promised for the third time that night, not even looking up from the newest model. It was late; even Jane had managed to pull herself away from the desk to go to bed. Loki was leaning against the doorway, contemplating whether dragging him by the hair would work. Then he remembered his last attempt, which had thrown the inventor across the desk without much effort. He scrapped the idea with a small wince._

_"It's almost as if you're making this job harder on purpose," he said, coming up with a new plan of action._

_A small laugh escaped Tony, but he still didn't raise his head. "What made you think that?"_

_"It's really a mystery." Loki smiled, "Get out of the lab and we can try solving it."_

_"Rather not."_

_"Anthony." He warned, a tone which had come to warrant the full name._

_He walked forward into the room, though Tony still refused to move his focus. That was, until he heard a crash and hiss of pain. His head swivelled, and he could no longer see him._

_"Loki?" He asked, jumping up and hurrying over, alarm in his voice. He rounded the table, only for the trickster to push him out of the doorway, completely unharmed. Tony kept his balance and made sense of the situation just as Loki followed him out, the door sliding shut behind him._

_"You sneaky little bastard."_

_He had a very self-satisfied grin on his face. "You weren't listening to reason."_

_"Maybe next time come up with a plan that doesn't make me worried sick."_

_"Tony, you do care." His grin remained as he made his way up the stairs, "Next time I'm carrying you out."_

He had also managed to become closer with Thor, to the delight of the latter, who Tony knew had felt guilty about his part in turning his brother dark. To him it was a chance to make things right between him and his brother: he didn't have to hope that his brother was in there somewhere, it was a new start. While Tony worked with Jane and explored her theories in the lab, Thor spent time with Loki, the two of them learning more about Earth together. Asgard was sometimes brought up in conversation, though it was strange for Loki to hear about a childhood he couldn't recall, but their conversations still lasted longer than they did the last time they were both in New York.

_Loki saw Thor enter the room, his well-built frame taking up most of the doorway, and glanced around for Tony before remembering he was in his workshop with Jane._

_"Brother, how do you fare today?" The blond asked, taking a seat nearby. The younger one winced internally at the phrasing. He felt bad for not remembering him as it was- the constant reminder that he was meant to be more than a stranger only made him more guilty._

_"I'm alright." was his answer, but after a moment, he placed the bookmark in place and turned to Thor. "I have a question."_

_Thor's face lit up in a moment. "Ask away, Loki."_

_"Why a hammer as weapon of choice?"_

_Thor looked down at Mjolnir, hanging loosely from his grip, and he smiled fondly. "Ah, but this is not just a hammer. It was forged in the heart of a dying star thousands of years ago by the dwarves of Nidavellir, and harnesses my power. It can summon storms of lightning at my will, allow me to fly, and only the worthy can lift it."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_Thor placed Mjolnir on the sofa cushion between them and continued. "If someone is not worthy of wielding the power of this hammer, they cannot lift it: it feels impossibly heavy and will not move."_

_Loki shifted, turning his body to face Thor, his interest piqued. "But if it's as heavy as you say it is, it should have broken this sofa by now: it should be falling should the floorboards. How can it be heavy enough to be immovable but light enough to not cause damage?"_

_"Jane believes she can explain it," Thor told him, brows furrowing as he recounted her explanation, "She thinks that when it was forged in that star, it became what she called a 'quantum point', so it is not heavy, but everything in our universe moves around it. It is as heavy as it is to me, but to everyone else it is immovable, because it does not move as we imagine."_

_Loki nodded, and gestured to it. "Can I try?" He asked. Thor nodded, so he took hold of the handle and pulled._

_It didn't move, it didn't even budge. It was like trying to lift the building itself. He let go with an impressed smile. "It certainly feels immovable."_

_Thor smiled with him and picked up the hammer effortlessly, flipping it in the air for good measure. "If you say so, brother." The small laugh he received in return only made him smile more._

Darcy hadn't had a problem with him since they met, and Jane eventually got used to him, though she was still unnerved at his unwavering politeness and civility whenever they crossed paths. Not that it happened that often; she barely left Tony's lab, and only emerged for meals and down-time with everyone else. That didn't mean that progress wasn't being made.

_Loki's attention was pulled from the book on the StarkPad by a knock on his door. The sound wasn't loud enough to be Thor, who would rattle the door with each hit, and Tony would never allow himself to sound so uncertain. Darcy was somehow a combination of the two. So that left Jane._

_"Come in," he called, putting the tablet to one side as his assumptions were proven correct, and Jane was there, hovering in the doorway._

_"Hey," she greeted, "Thought I'd find you here."_

_"You thought right," he smiled, gesturing for her to come in, "Can I help you with something?"_

_Jane hesitated, and took a seat opposite the bed. Immediately, her foot started tapping. She looked deep in thought._

_Loki frowned. "Is everything okay, Jane?"_

"I know you want to distance yourself from who you used to be," she started suddenly, "And with who you were, I completely understand, so I'm going to respect that and not bring it up too much."

_He nodded, wondering where she was going with this. He had been worried for a while about the possibility of falling back into whatever he had been- if he didn't know why old him had done whatever he had done, how could he be certain he wouldn't fall into that state? Whoever he had been was clearly someone he never wanted to be again, and he had started steering Thor away from conversations about his past when he brought it up, just in case. He knew it wouldn't make a difference, but it helped his peace of mind slightly._

_"But I want you to know that you saved my life once. A few minutes before you died for Thor, actually. If it wasn't for you I would have been in a controlled black hole."_

_Loki stared in surprise, but Jane continued, "I had made clear what I thought of you before it happened too. But you still shoved me out of harm's way. So what I'm saying is, old you wasn't completely evil. I don't know why you did what you did in New York, but you weren't that person when you died, so I don't think you'll be that person when you remember again. So, don't be too worried about your memories returning or not._

_He blinked, taking it in. Who the hell had he been? "Thank you," he said quietly, "I'll keep that in mind."_

_She smiled, the nervousness from before melting away. "Happy to help. Don't suppose you mind if I talk about my theories for a bit? I've hit a bit of a roadblock and find it helps to work through it if I explain it to someone else."_

_That's how Tony and Darcy found them three hours later- the two of them arguing something about the power needed to fuel an Einstein-Rosen bridge while JARVIS helpfully flashed statistics on the wall beside them._

It was a good routine, especially now that Tony had the impromptu science sessions with Jane to keep his mind occupied.The astrophysicist lived up to her reputation, rivalling Bruce Banner with her ideas and different perspectives that left Tony impressed- her work on discovering the science behind the BiFrost was something he was determined to understand and put to use. Like Tony, her people skills tended to go out the window when on the verge of a breakthrough, but luckily, she seemed to understand the importance of actually having regular meals. It only made her slightly easier to remove from the workshop, however. They spent hours working on prototypes and theories, he ended up so tired by the end of the day that he put up less of a fight when Loki kept his promise to carry him out.

The god began to rebuild an identity for himself, though Thor knew better than to tell him how similar he was to his old self. He was eerily clever, had a wit to rival Iron Man himself, and developed a habit of thinking ahead of himself. He loved to learn about Earth, and could spend hours alone with JARVIS, asking question after question late into the night. His questions were the only reminder that he had not been in the tower since the beginning. His scar had healed incredibly quickly compared to what Tony would be able to manage, and every day it was like he'd always been there.

Of course, there were still a few hiccups.

Like the time he turned blue.


	6. 6.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Loki begin to learn about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this no longer updates regularly, and won't for the forseeable future. I haven't outlined the whole story quite yet and this had led to a few issues, so I want to finish that before I start really getting into this. Plus, school is starting again in like three days and I've done none of the homework, so...  
> Enjoy either way.

_"Liquid Nitrogen." Tony presented with a flourish as he entered the lab, "should be a good enough alternative until we fix the overheating core."_

_"It won't last long, though." Jane pointed out as he set it down on the bench, "the amount of energy we'll need to even attempt communication across realms... The nitrogen will probably run out in about six minutes, if we're lucky."_

_"That still gives us enough time for a quick test run, make some notes- we can get to correcting it after we try it. Run before you can walk, remember?"_

_That was two hours before Loki found them, arguing loudly with each other while misting liquid seeped out of a burned hole in the side of its container._

_"How was I supposed to know the container wouldn't stand up to it- hey, Lokes! Give us a hand here, would you? Turn the container on its side so it stops leaking?"_

_"Why can't you do it?" he asked, eyeing the mess warily._

_Tony held up his hands. "Delicate human skin. Liquid Nitrogen would burn like a bitch. You're the least likely to die a painful death."_

_He looked skeptical, but came forward, avoiding the puddle that was forming and took hold of the container._

_"It's colder than I thought it'd be," he commented as he turned it on its side and set it down, but his eyes were drawn to the blue colour that had started to run up his hands slowly. "Is that meant to happen?"_

_"Not for humans, no." Jane muttered, ghosting a hand over his but avoiding contact, "it's like you're absorbing the cold- you're freezing."_

_"JARVIS, get Thor down here, we need to make sure he's not dying."_

_"Immediately, sir."_

_"I don't feel any pain, but the container doesn't feel cold anymore." Loki removed his hands from the container, and the blueness, which had reached his elbows by this point, started to recede at the same pace it had grown. He noticed raised lines curving across the skin that disappeared with the blue, though his white skin remained as smooth as ever. He ran his other hand's fingers over it- it didn't feel like a stain, but the colour spread to his pale fingertips. "Perhaps my temperature now matches that of the nitrogen. I don't think I'm dying." he added, more of an afterthought than anything._

_"Maybe it's an Asgardian thing."_

_"Mr Odinson is on his way, and though assures me Mr Loki is in no danger, he has strongly advised against contact until the skin returns to normal." JARVIS spoke up. Jane immediately withdrew her hand, suddenly wary._

_Loki watched the colour with fascination, and crouched down next to the escaped nitrogen before plunging his left hand into the puddle. The colour spread again, while the blue on his right continued to recede. By the time Thor arrived, the blue had spread to his face, thin ridges appearing across his face, one eye a gleaming red. Thor stopped at the sight._

_"Hey Thor, should we be worried about this?" Tony asked._

_He did not speak for a second, but shook himself out of his trance. "Forgive me. I have never seen him like this in person. No, Loki is not in any danger. Whatever the puddle is simply forced him to shift to protect himself."_

_"Shift?"_

_"You're a shape-shifter, Loki." he explained, "This is the form you were born as, a Jotunn, referred to as Frost Giants in Asgard. Father found you in one of their temples shortly after the end of the war between our races, and you were adopted into the family. You didn't find out until recently, and I even later. Your Aesir form is as much you as this form and any other is. The change is instinctive in this situation."_

_Loki nodded, satisfied with the explanation, and stood back from the nitrogen. "So why can't they touch me?"_

_"Jotunn skin would burn even an Aesir to the bone: who knows what it would do to a mortal being. It's why you shift when in contact with extreme cold- to protect your Aesir form."_

_Loki watched his hand as the colour bled away, and smiled. "Cool. Do you think I could consciously shift without the nitrogen?"_

_Thor blinked, but answered. "I'm not sure: you never attempted it without an aid, but you've always been clever, brother. I'm sure you would figure it out in time."_

_He wasn't about to explain what the Frost Giants were to Aesir: he knew all too well how that had affected his brother last time. If he could accept his Jotunn heritage like this, maybe that was something he didn't need to change._

 

Apart from that one lesson in shape-shifting ability, it was like Loki had always been a part of the Tower. Tony and Darcy introduced him to the cornerstones of popular culture and helped him to assimilate to Earth life. Jane and Thor combined their different perspectives to help him re-learn his abilities- Jane looking at what he could do from the scientific side, Thor bringing in what he remembered from their shared studies on Asgard. Even with the odd call out for Iron Man, that Thor usually joined in with, life was almost peaceful.

Almost.

Tony was still dreaming about that damn wormwhole.

He was lucky if he found himself too exhausted to dream, but that in itself was a rarity. Most nights he still saw it: the tear in the sky, the void ahead of him, his suit failing in front of his eyes as the air dissipated from his lips...

On this particular night, Tony was passed out from fatigue in the lab, oil in his hair and screwdriver still in hand. Loki, who had lost track of time while reading, hurried down the stairs and scanned himself in. When he did, he stopped and smiled slightly at the sight.

_At least he won't argue with me like this_ , he thought, walking over and prying the screwdriver from him and placing it down. As quietly as he could, he picked him up and carried him out of the room with ease, quietly asking JARVIS to turn out the lights in the lab as he crossed the threshold.

He was almost to Tony's room when he noticed something was wrong. Tony was flinching in his sleep, muttering until it became almost a cry. Alarmed, he picked up his pace into Tony's room, placing him down on the mattress.

"Tony? Tony!" He started shaking him awake, but it did nothing, each failed attempt only making him more desperate. "Anthony!"

Nothing was working, and his mind moved to illness. Was he ill? Was this a symptom? His hand went to Tony's head, but instead of feeling heat, images flashed behind his eyes. Explosions scattering the city he had seen outside the windows, strange creatures pouring through the streets, a tear in the sky from which Tony fell...

Tony finally woke, leaping up with a gasp, sweat beading on his forehead and shaking all over. Loki let go of his shoulders and jumped back, looking down at his hand, trying to process what he just saw before moving forward to check on Tony again. The latter saw Loki beside him and flinched away, flailing to support himself and keep his body upright. The god knew better than to come closer, and had a horrible feeling he knew why. "Tony, you need to breathe."

He could only shake his head, "I'm good, I'm good." His voice contradicted his words.

Loki didn't know what to do to help, so he sat quietly by his bedside as Tony began to calm down. It was a few minutes before his breathing returned to something resembling normal.

"Are you alright?" After, all, what else could he say in this situation?

"Yeah, I'm fine, promise."

"Is this a normal thing for you?"

His arms were still shaking as he supported himself. "Guess you could say that."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No. No, I'll be fine. Everything's fine."

Still, Loki remained at his bedside, deciding not to leave until he was sure Tony was able to sleep again. It started to make sense, really: why he always fought to stay in the lab past the early hours of the morning- if this was a regular occurance, it's no wonder he refused to sleep.

Did he do this to him? In the past he couldn't remember? Had that been a glimpse of it? Had whatever he had done caused this? Did he let all that happen? But then why let him stay in his home? It didn't make much sense to open your home to someone who caused you suffering such as this. But then what?

He looked back over at Tony. Luckily, the exhaustion had caught up with him again, and he had fallen into a light sleep. Hopefully, the sleep was too light for any further night terrors as of yet.

Loki was silent as he left the room, and remained so until he was in his own guest room. "JARVIS?" He whispered, and the AI matched his volume. "Yes Mr Loki?"

"What happened to Tony?"

"Mr Stark suffers from severe anxiety due to a recent traumatic event. The nightmares he experience are a symptom of post-traumatic stress."

"What happened to him?"

"I'm afraid Mr Stark has advised against revealing such details, should they cause you undue stress."

His head fell into his hand. "So I did cause this, then."

"Not directly, sir." JARVIS responded, "It was Mr Stark's choice to do what he did; your actions merely provided the circumstance of which his decision was necessary."

"Is there anything I can do to help him?"

"Unfortunately not, sir. I sincerely doubt Mr Stark would wish to discuss the events, and doing so may very well trigger another attack."

But I have to do something to help him," Loki tried, "After everything he has given me I could at least try."

"I am sorry I cannot be of more help." JARVIS answered before going quiet. Loki stayed where he was, going over the same images over and over, trying to piece together what happened. When he tried to sleep, they bled into his dreams.

~~~

Tony woke the next morning and forced himself out of bed to get something to drink. He felt drained, a headache was forming behind his eyes and all he could think about was getting some coffee.

When the kitchen came into view, Loki was already there, a book open beside him and two mugs of coffee on the breakfast bar. He pushed one towards him silently, still drinking his own. Tony walked over and took the second one. "You learned how to use the coffee machine."

"JARVIS is a good teacher."

They drank in silence for a few moments, the exchanges of last night hanging between them, neither seeming to want to acknowledge them.

He was glad when Jane walked in. "'Morning, Tony." She smiled, making a beeline for the fridge. "Loki."

"Hello, Jane." Loki greeted, "Where's Thor?"

"He's still asleep as far as I know."

"Great," Tony butted in, finishing his mug and setting it down. "When he wakes up he can get his bloody hammer off my stuff." He gestured to Mjolnir, sitting proudly on top of Tony's tablet, a corner of a flashing notification only just visible.

"But we can get down to the lab then. I want to hear the rest of your ideas about that inter-realm communication."

"Sure," Jane smiled, shutting the fridge, "I actually think we can increase its range without changing the dimensions if we-"

"Not so fast," Loki shook his head. "Tony, you know the rules- you aren't getting in the lab until noon."

"Aw, come on, Rudolph," Tony smiled, leaning over the counter, his head coming near Loki's coffee as he looked up at him. "Just this once. It's important, we swear."

The taller one huffed a smile and pushed his head away from him. "No. And you've still not explained that ridiculous nickname."

"Fond memories, nothing you need to stress over. Jane, I'm afraid the benevolent deity of the Tower has forsaken us today. I'll see you down there at noon sharp."

"See you then." She smiled, disappearing through the doors. The room became quiet again, the only sound coming from Loki slipping a bookmark in place.

"How are you? Really?" he asked, hands cupping his mug as he watched him.

"I'm fine, promise."

"Are you okay to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not, if I'm honest."

"Is there any way I can help?"

Tony looked at him, this shadow of an insane god, trying to help, and wondered how the same person could be so different to his past self. He could still see the old Loki, if he sent his mind back, could see his threatening glare, hear the malice in his voice. But he could barely match any of that to the man before him: this version of him that he had gotten to know. It would be unnerving if he hadn't had all this time to get used to it.

"Tony?" Loki asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. He hoped he hadn't been staring.

"If I think of a way, I'll let you know." He promised. "But all that's the tip of a shit show of an iceberg, so for now, I'd prefer if we dropped the subject."

He could tell Loki was reluctant, but he didn't press the matter any further, choosing instead to ask about something else. "Who are the people who keep appearing at the tower?" He asked, "JARVIS has had to use Introvert Alert three times this week."

Tony gave a small smile, partly in relief at the change of topic, but also in humour of the name he had chosen for the alert.

"They're friends," he explained, "Like Thor. Met them through SHIELD. There's Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Steve... Whole gang of us."

"I see," Loki nodded, "and did Old Me ever meet them?"

"I thought we weren't bringing up your past self?"

"Humour me."

Tony looked at his mug, arms resting on the tabletop. "Yeah, old you met them."


	7. 7.

"Forgive the interruption, sirs." JARVIS spoke up, "But Colonel Rhodes is a mile from the Tower. I estimate he will be entering the premises in approximately four minutes."

"Thanks, J." Tony smiled, before turning back to Loki. "That's your cue, Lokes."

In response, Loki stood up, gathering his book and mug into his hands and leaving the room. The moment he left the room, it was like he had never been here to begin with. There was no evidence to suggest anyone but Thor, Jane and Darcy were here. Thor's hammer was still there, the tablet still trapped underneath. Jane's jacket was draped over the sofa, some of the academic papers she had been reading still on the coffee table, and Darcy's beanie was balanced precariously on top of the fridge. Because they were safe to do that. At the realisation, Tony surprised himself by feeling sorry for the guy; the one person who cannot leave the building also can't make the place his own to any degree.

Maybe I should get him something, Tony thought, to change all that. All the clothes he wore were technically Tony's, and he was borrowing everything else. Maybe he needed some possessions of his own, to make his residence really official. But what to get?

He must have been brooding on the thought for longer than he realised, because the next time he looked up, Rhodey was already exiting the elevator.

"Platypus!" he welcomed with an enthusiasm that brought a smile to his wary face. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Always said I'd come over if I had a spare few hours, didn't I?" he answered, making a beeline for the sofa and flopping down with a sigh, closing his eyes. "I know I keep telling you this Iron Man gig will half your lifespan, but I swear, dealing with Pentagon assholes with have you front row at my funeral."

Tony laughed, joining him on the sofa. "Impossible. You already promised to drape yourself over my coffin and curse the forces at work that took me from this world."

Rhodey groaned half-heartedly. "I had really hoped you had forgotten about that."

"Never, Honey Bear. Hey, in a few hours you should head down to the workshop with me. You can look over the specs for the new armour while I work with Jane on her work- I could use a rocket scientist opinion."

"Thank God- any work that isn't in legalese, hit me with it."

Tony grinned at him. He had missed his time with Rhodey. Jane was brilliant, her genius rivalled by very few people, but the two were from different fields. Astrophysics and literal rocket science- it would be unfair to compare them, but it would be a breath of fresh air to dive back into Rhodey's area of expertise. With his busy schedule, any time he had with him was a treasure.

"Oh." Rhodey paused, fishing his phone out and frowning at it, before breaking into a grin. "Yes! I'm free!"

"Free?"

"Buddy of mine in the Force is gonna take on a few meetings for me, get the big guns off my back, so I can stay here a day or two."

"That's more like it." Tony replied happily, but his mind had gone into overdrive. How was he going to work Rhodey and Loki around each other? Rhodey couldn't know about Loki, but Loki couldn't hole himself in his room for an indetermined amount of time.

This had been easier with Pepper, who didn't live in the Tower, and sent anything Tony needed to sign electronically. She rarely showed up in person, and even then, SI pulled her away before long. It was always sad to watch her go, but at least it meant he didn't need to explain why he had the alien who started the invasion in his penthouse. Rhodey wasn't nearly as predictable.

"Tones, you good?" Rhodey waved a hand in front of him, startling him back into reality, "You zoned out for a sec."

"Never better." he grinned in response, standing up and backpedalling for the doors, "So, you eat up- those Pentagon guys don't treat you right- I'll go change and get the SI stuff out of the way, then science!"

He ended it with a flourish and left, the grin falling from his face as he focused. "J, get a message to Rudolph- the Introvert just became a Borrower."

"Immediately, sir."

Oblivious to the conversation, Rhodey stood staring at the doors for a few moments before speaking. “JARVIS,” he called, “Is Tony in trouble of any kind?”

The pause barely lasted a second before he received an answer. “Sir’s possibility of risk is not significantly higher than usual, Colonel.”

Rhodey nodded, resigned. "I guess that'll do for now."

*****************************************

When Loki had left to go to his own room, he immediately went to JARVIS to enquire after his brother.

"Mr Odinson is indeed awake. Shall I inform him to wish to see him?"

"Please." Loki smiled briefly, but it lasted only moments before his thoughts drifted back to last night's events. His eyes dragged to his hand, and even now he remembered the feeling of unfamiliar sights assaulting his senses as if it had been moments ago. Those had not been Loki's memories. They had been Tony's. Somehow, he had been in his head, and the thought left a weight in his stomach. The idea made him uncomfortable.

The knock on his door pulled him from these thoughts, the sound unmistakably Thor, and he let him in.

"You wanted to see me, brother?"

Loki nodded, and waited for him to sit in front of him, absently picking at his palm. Thor recognised the habit and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"My abilities," he said, meeting his eyes, "What are they?"

Thor blinked, "What happened?"

He looked down at his hands again. "Tony was having a nightmare, and I couldn't wake him. I... I touched his head, and I think I saw what he was seeing, or what he had seen."

Thor nodded in understanding. "Yes, that is an ability you have. You don't really use it that often. Think of it as your own brand of telepathy. I don't know how extensive your talents in it are- you never wanted me to know all your tricks- but as long as you don't go around patting people's foreheads, I think you should be fine."

"But what else can I do?" he was leaning forward now, "I need to know. I don't want to get caught out again, or I might accidentally hurt someone. I've already went inside Tony's _mind_ , Thor. I never want to do something like that again, not to any of you."

The god was surprised to see such sincerity in his brother's eyes, but pushed the memories of New York aside to nod. "Of course brother. Well, on top the telepathy, you can create duplicates of yourself, though they're usually only visual illusions. Most of your spellwork can't be done accidentally, so I wouldn't worry about any of that without memory of your past, but that was energy blasts, portals, things like that. Your Jotun heritage is trickier- you've never had experience using that other than the Casket on Asgard, but you should be fine while in Aesir form. The shapeshifting we've covered to an extent, but you can shift into other creatures as well. You've tried hypnosis before, and you can reattach your own limbs. I've seen you do that one. The time your head was cut off almost gave me a heart attack-"

"You're kidding, right?" He was staring at his brother, waiting for the smile to break across his face that would let him know he was joking, but it didn't appear.

"No, why?"

He gave an incredulous huff of a laugh. "It's just... whatever I was trying to do in New York, if I could do all that, how did you stop me?"

Thor frowned, realising the implication even if his brother did not. The most magic Loki had used during the invasion was apparently in Stuttgart to duplicate himself, and even then they weren't used in combat. His own fight with him didn't involve any either- it was all the Tesseract, the sceptre and the Chitauri. He never used magic as more than a tool to accomplish a task, but something a large as a full-scale invasion of a realm...

"The Avengers are worthy heroes," he explained, putting the speculation away to deal with later. "I am honoured to fight alongside them. I only wish different circumstances had brought you to them."

"As do I."

Their conversation was interrupted by JARVIS. "Pardon the intrusion, but Sir wishes to relay a message. In verbatim, the Introvert just became a Borrower."

"Ah." Loki looked to Thor and explained. "Someone must be staying longer than we first thought. I won't be able to navigate the Tower without JARVIS informing me about our guest's location so I can avoid them."

Thor nodded and glanced up. "Who is the visitor?"

"Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, close friend to Sir and known as War Machine in outer circles. He is the only one Sir trusts with a suit of his own."

Such a close friend meant that Tony's time would be taken up almost completely. So Loki would be down one point of contact in the Tower, and Thor would be unable to bring up his thoughts about the invasion without raising questions from the Colonel.

"I'm sure we'll manage in the mean time."

Loki shrugged, and found a more comfortable position on the bed. "Either way, I guess I should get comfortable."


End file.
